VOICES
My Brief Moment with the Pope by Congresswoman Janice Hahn (CA-44)
20 I SAN PEDRO TODAY I NOVEMBER 2015
Last month, I had the incredible honor of witnessing Pope Francis address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. It was actually the first time in history that a Pope had addressed a joint session of Congress and I know that his trip to the United States meant so much to so many Americans, especially the nearly 70 million Catholics in this country. Visits from world leaders are not unusual for Congress. Just this year, we have had the honor of visits from Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, President of Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. But the visit from Pope Francis seemed different. On the morning of his address, I actually got to the House Floor hours ahead of time so that I could get a seat on the aisle and be close to him when he walked in. And this is where I had my brief moment with the Pope. We were all told not to speak to him or try to shake hands with him as he came down the center aisle. Some of my colleagues were even given the task of “Congressional Blockers” to keep us in line! But I felt that because this was a new experience for him, he might feel unsure of how this body would receive him. So when he walked by me I quickly said, “Welcome to Congress, your Holiness.” He stopped briefly and smiled at me. I then said, “We are glad you are here.” His address was simple and honest. He challenged us as members of Congress to be better and to do the work the American people elected us to do – to enable this country to grow as a nation and to defend and preserve the dignity of our fellow citizens. Congress has not lived up to this simple mission. Partisan gamesmanship and the unwritten truth that your enemy’s loss is your gain have made it impossible to make any progress on the issues that really matter to Americans. All signs point to this only getting worse – from the once optimistic plans for comprehensive immigration reform to the almost annual ritual of threatening a government shutdown. Pope Francis, in his wisdom, gave us a simple solution for these ills. The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. He explained it this way: “This Rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities.”
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Hahn greets Pope Francis as he enters Congress on Sept. 24, 2015
This is a rule that I believe members of Congress, and all of us in whichever walk of life we come from, should learn to live by. We should learn to treat each other with respect, regardless of what party we belong to. If we want others to listen to us, we should listen to others. It is a simple rule – one most people learn in kindergarten – but something we are still going to have to work on in Congress. Pope Francis also invoked one of my heroes, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and challenged us to live up to his legacy. He said that when he thinks of the challenges facing us, he thinks of Dr. King’s march from Selma to Montgomery. Communities, whether they be black, Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, gay, they all face struggles to finding their part of the American Dream. The Pope said that he continues to be inspired by Dr. King’s dream, as we all are. Despite the many challenges we face, “America continues to be, for many, a land of dreams.” A particularly touching moment for me during his visit was when Sofia Cruz – a 5-year-old girl from my district in South Gate – crossed the police barricades during the Pope’s DC parade. Instead of pushing her back, she was lifted into the Pope’s arms on live TV. Sofia’s parents are undocumented and she took that chance to give him a letter asking for his support for DAPA – a program that would prevent the deportation of undocumented parents of American children. This is just one example of many stories that have made Pope Francis beloved. He is humble. He is kind. He is accepting. Of course, nobody is perfect. Are there problems existing in the Catholic Church? Yes. Was his decision to canonize Junipero Serra controversial? Certainly. But Pope Francis is only human and the impact he has had on people around the world varies from person to person. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I know that his visit and his message were important to me. It was a message that I already knew but I think I needed to hear again. spt Janice Hahn is the U.S. Representative from California's 44th congressional district and a member of the Democratic Party.